Week 4: Citizenship through Geography

                                          

What is happening in our Year 1 classroom...

Hello parents,

Welcome to Term 1 in Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS).

I am eager to share with you the exciting Geography unit your children will be partaking in this term. Their participation in this unit will increase their understanding of the links between geographical concepts and Civics and Citizenship education. Through involvement in this Geography unit, I hope to stimulate a sense of wonder and curiosity within your children as they explore and extend their understanding of geographical concepts (Matthews & Cranby, 2014).

Figure 1. Geography and Civics & Citizenship (Clipart, 2020).

The Project

For this unit, I will be using an inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach to facilitate the children’s learning. Children benefit greatly from IBL, as it enables them to play an active role within the learning process, increases motivation, betters their understanding and achieves high-order learning outcomes (Smith et al, 2008).

Due to Australia’s recent events of the ‘Black Summer’ bushfires, the schools ‘Kindergarten outdoor play space’ suffered great amount of damage.

The recent drastic event has guided the following learning within this unit, where students learning is focussed on the following inquiry questions:
• How has the Kinders outdoor play area changed and why? 
• What makes a child friendly, safe and fun play space?

Figure 2. Damaged school play-area (2020).

They will investigate features of natural, constructed and managed local environments and how they can change over time. Through exploring these, students will better understand the key geographical concepts outlined in the Australian Curriculum. You will find the curriculum links below.

Figure 3. Natural, Managed and Constructed Features and Places (2020). 

Now it’s action time! Students will participate in class discussions about what they think makes a child friendly, safe and fun outdoor play area. They will look at photographs prior to the bushfires to assist them in observing, identifying and describing the changes. Students will go on an excursion to local play areas, where they will work in groups and identify important features. On return, each group will share their opinions to the rest of the class, where they will collaborate and design a new play space for the Kindergarten.

Students will be invited to present their design ideas to the Kindergarten class, fellow teachers and our principle. Once closer, we will provide you with a date - we would love for you to see our ideas!

The core of civics is to be a good citizen and the connection to geography is how as a good citizen we explore, understand and analyse the geographical characteristics through our connection to our surroundings (Gilbert, R., & Hoepper, B. (Eds.) (2017). This unit was purposely designed to promote students as informed and active citizens where they can understand and contribute to their environment, creating a sense of belonging (ACARA, 2020).

Thank you for your encouragement and I am confident that your child will love contributing to their local community.

Figure 4. Geography Year 1 Australian Curriculum links (ACARA, 2020).

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2020) The Australian curriculum: Humanities and social sciences (Version 8.3), all curriculum elements, all curriculum dimensions. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/download/

Gilbert, R. & Hoepper, B. (Eds.). (2017). Teaching humanities and social sciences: history, geography, economics & citizenship (5th ed.). Southbank, VIC: Cengage Learning.

Matthews, S., & Cranby, S. (2014). Geography in the Australian curriculum. In R. Gilbert & B. Hoepper (Eds.), Teaching humanities and social sciences: History, Geography, Economics and Citizenship in the Australian curriculum. (pp. 223-247). South Melbourne, VIC: Cengage Learning Australia.

Smith, R., Bullard J., Ray, W., Roberts, C., & Keiffer, A. (2008) Where Might Sand Dunes be on Mars? Engaging Students through Inquiry-based Learning in Geography, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 32:1, 71-86, DOI: 10.1080/03098260701731520

Week 3: Developing active citizenship skills through the History curriculum

What is happening in our Year 2 classroom …

Hello parents,

Welcome to Term 2 in Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS). 

This term students will engage in a unit of work which aims to develop their HASS inquiry skills. The unit has been designed to increase students understanding of History and the impact of changing technology, such as transport, has on people’s lives in both the past and present. By engaging in this unit, students will strengthen their Literacy skills by engaging in discussions and questioning and interpreting different texts types and images (Hoodless, 2009).  

Figure 1. Kremena T. Spengler (2020).

The Project

Throughout the project, students will engage in class discussions and inquiry-based learning experiences, considering the following key inquiry questions: Why/how has transport changed over time? How is the transport you use today different to your grandparents when they were your age? Do you think transportation has impacted the way we live?

To begin, I will activate student’s prior knowledge. Students will be shown photographs of the different modes of transportation from periods in the past. As a class, we will discuss what they already know about the history of transport. Students’ ideas will be recorded on a KWL chart (see below).

Figure 2. K-W-L Chart (2020)

Students will then visit the local heritage museum where they will be taken on a guided tour that shows the different modes of transport and how they have changed over time. Students will be asked to consider the following questions: How is transport today, similar to or different from the past eras? How has transport impacted people’s lives in the past and present? 

Figure 3. Gold Coast Heritage Museum (2020)

On return, students will engage in multiple inquiry-based learning activities: 

• Students will participate in a survey where they will be asked how they get to and from school. They will discuss the results and consider the most sustainable mode of transport.
• Students will create a short story book, illustrating how travel has changed over time. 
• Students will demonstrate their role as active citizens by planning a ‘walk to school day’. This not only encourages students to sustainable transport but inspires a more active/healthy lifestyle.


AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM LINKS:

·       HISTORY (Grade 2): ACHASSK046, ACHASSI034, ACHASSI037, ACHASSI039 
·       CIVICS & CITIZENSHIP (Grade 3): ACHASSK072 



Gilbert and Hoepper (2014) state there are a number of C&C issues embedded in historical contexts and vice-versa; which is why teaching these topics together is pedagogically appropriate. By engaging students in historical thinking of the past, they will come to value past events and changes. It will deepen their understandings of the present-day as well as the enduring significance of those in the past. They will use these understandings to contribute to preferred futures both locally and globally (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009).

Parents involvement in their Childs learning is something our school values, which often leads to an increase in students’ self-esteem, motivation and improved attitudes (Rockwell, Andre & Hawley, 2010). We would love you to come along to our classroom on Friday 12th June, where I am sure students will be eager and excited to present you their transportation history story books and inform you about our ‘walk to school day’. 

Thank you for your continuous support and I am confident that your child will enjoy participating in this unit of work.

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2020a) The Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences (Version 8.1). (Humanities and Social Sciences, all year levels, all curriculum elements, all curriculum dimensions). Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/download/f10.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2020b). Literacy. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/literacy/

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2009c). Shape of the Australian Curriculum: History. Retrieved from https://docs.acara.edu.au/resources/The_Shape_of_the_Australian_Curriculum_V3.pdf

Commonwealth of Australia. (2009). Effective practice in Civics and Citizenship Education. Australian Government, ACT: Department of Education.

Gilbert, R. & Hoepper, B. (Eds.). (2014). Teaching humanities and social sciences: history, geography, economics & citizenship (5th ed.). Southbank, VIC: Cengage Learning.

Hoodless, P. (2009). Teaching humanities in primary schools. Exeter: Learning Matters.

Rockwell, R., Andre, L., & Hawley, M. (2010). Families and educators as partners (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

Week 2: Civics and Citizenship

What is happening in Year 3 ...

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  Figure 1. Save the planet (2020).

Hello parents,

Welcome to Term 3 of Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS). 

Every Friday Year 3 will be extremely busy learning to be active citizens. Your child will develop the skills and knowledge they need to become active and informed citizens within their society. We will be exploring the importance of democratic decision-making and participation within the community (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2018). 

The Project

With National Recycling Week just around the corner, we will be discussing what a responsible citizen looks like and what they can do at school, home and the community. To begin, an image with the message 'save our planet’ will be shown. Students will engage in a class discussion, considering questions such as: why is it important to recycle? What happens if we do not recycle? Do we as citizens have responsibility to look after our surrounding environment? What can we do in the classroom, at home, in the playground and when we eat to ensure we are effectively recycling? From this, students will work in groups to create a video presentation that advertises National Recycle Week to the rest of their class. Their video presentation must capture the importance of recycling, what the implications are to our environment if people do not correctly recycle and how the community can effectively help their surrounding environment by recycling. Once students have completed their presentation it will be shown to the rest of their peers and a vote will take place to determine which best achieved the goal of selling the importance of National Recycle Week. A local member from Rethink Waste will be invited to view the presentations.

Figure 2. Recycle (Clipart, 2020). 

This project forms strong links to multiple areas of the Australian Curriculum including Civics and Citizenship, English, Sustainability and Critical and Creative Thinking. In particular, it strongly relates to the Year 3 Civics and Citizenship content descriptor (ACHASSK072) (ACARA, 2018). Additionally, it underlies the importance of sustainability, encouraging students to contribute to a more sustainable way of living.

Once students have looked at the effects of recycling and completed their presentations they will take action by being active citizens through their preparation and involvement in National Recycle Week. We would really love for all parents to come along on Friday 13th November with gloves to assist our class on cleaning up the school grounds. For those of you who cannot make it this day, spend some time on the weekend with your child picking up some rubbish... and don't forget to recycle! 

Active Citizenship 

For Civics and Citizenship education (CCE) to be successful, students learning must incorporate participation in real, authentic, local and global issues (Tudball & Brett, 2014). This project encourages a democratic classroom, offering rich and authentic learning opportunities, creating a stimulating student-centred working environment. It utilises an inquiry-based approach that allows students to pose meaningful questions, engage in deep thinking and evaluate and assess information (Gilbert, R., & Hoepper, B. (Eds.) (2017).

It is vital that we, as teachers and parents, teach our children to be active citizens now rather than ‘future citizens’ (Phillips, 2010). For this to be the case, it is crucial that we do not just rely on schooling. With a wide amount of academic literature stating that families, in particular, play a central role in a child’s approach towards active citizenship (Ersoy, 2012). 

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2018) The Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences (Version 8.1). (Humanities and Social Sciences, all year levels, all curriculum elements, all curriculum dimensions). Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/download/f10.

Ersoy, A. (2012). Mothers’ perceptions of citizenship, practices for developing citizenship conscience of their children and problems they encountered. Educational sciences: Theory and practice, 12 (3), 2120-2124.

Gilbert, R., & Hoepper, B. (Eds.) (2017). Teaching Humanities and Social Sciences (edn). Melbourne: Cengage.

Phillips, L. (2010). Social justice storytelling and young children’s active citizenship. Discourse: Studies in the cultural politics of education, 31 (3), 363-376.

Tudball, L., & Brett, P. (2014). What matters and what’s next for civics and citizenship education in Australia? Social educator, 32 (2), 4-15.